Football Transfer Betting Sites (April 2024)

How to Bet on Football Transfers For Players & Managers

During the off-season period, betting on football transfers for players becomes very popular.

There are always rumours and reports about various players being on the move and football fans enjoy having a wager on who might switch to which club ahead of the next campaign.

As the transfer window stays open beyond the big kick-off there are still chances for players to secure a dream transfer, with markets offered for their next club on many top football betting sites.

It is also possible to bet on the future of various managers and managerial posts these days. All this means that football transfers for players and managers are a very popular option to go for.

But for those who have never placed these types of wagers, it can be tough to know where to start. Our guide to how to bet on football transfers for players and managers has all the details.

Introduction to Football Transfer Betting

Transfer betting is nothing new but it is perhaps over the course of the past few years when these types of markets have exploded in popularity across the best betting sites in the UK.

Of course, it has long been possible to bet on the next manager to leave their job in the Premier League, with this 'sack race' market often one of the most popular for player/manager transfers.

One of the good things about transfer betting is it is possible to place wagers on players moving when there is no live action. Transfer activity naturally ramps up during the summer months between the end of a season and the start of the next, so this is prime territory for these bets.

But with another transfer window taking place in the middle of the season, during the month of January, the constant speculation within the rumour mill will draw many to player transfer bets.

It is possible to bet on free transfers as well as those involving a fee. Indeed, with a lot of elite players running down their contracts at the moment, betting on the next club of a player who is set to become a free agent and available to sign on a Bosman-style deal is now very popular.

One example from 2022 concerns Gareth Bale. The Wales winger was widely expected to leave Real Madrid at the end of his contract, with various options touted for his future. Despite a wide variety of clubs being linked with a move for the Welshman, he ended up signing for LA in MLS.

Transfer betting can sometimes be controversial, with a few players having got into hot water as a result of these markets. Kieran Trippier had to serve a long suspension after he tipped off his friends about moving to Atletico Madrid, with Daniel Sturridge also falling foul of these rules too.

But for general football fans, betting on player and manager transfers is pretty harmless and fun.

The Best Betting Sites That Offer Transfer Betting

Many of the best betting sites in the UK offer transfer betting these days, including the following:

Betfair

As one of the biggest betting sites on the planet, Betfair's wide range of markets is virtually unparalleled in the business. It is no surprise to see this UK site has plenty of transfer markets.

Player transfer markets include elite stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane, as well as those who are making their way in the game such as Antony, Morgan Gibbs-White and others. There are even some top player transfer markets offered at the Betfair exchange here as well, so this is another good reason to use Betfair for player and manager transfer betting markets.

Manager specials are among those that can be found at Betfair too. As well as the typical next Premier League manager leaving their post-market, Betfair allows its customers to bet on who will be the next manager of England, plus Liverpool, Real Madrid and various others as well.

Furthermore, whenever there is a particularly big transfer, then Betfair will have special markets for that player. As an example, when Erling Haaland signed for Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, Betfair had a suite of betting markets for the following season including options to bet on him to win the Ballon d'Or and score five goals in a league game.

Sky Bet

A betting site known for its request-a-bet markets, Sky Bet also thrives when it comes to player and manager transfer markets, with a huge choice for users who sign up for an account here.

Sky Bet's transfer specials include markets on the next club for big-name players such as Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Frenkie De Jong. There are plenty of markets for those who are available on free transfers too, with the likes of Paulo Dybala covered after he left Juventus in the summer of 2022 at the end of his contract. Players like Dwight McNeil, Bukayo Saka, Jack Harrison, Nathan Ake and Ryan Kent are among those to have transfer markets in play here.

Manager specials can be found at Sky Bet too. Like Betfair, the site has the option to bet on the next Premier League manager to leave their post, with the 'sack race' constantly updated. It is also possible to bet on who will be named the next England manager by joining Sky Bet too.

As is the case with a lot of the betting sites that offer player and manager transfer betting, it does not take a lot of money to be placed on a market to move the odds on Sky Bet. This is due to the fact there is a relatively low amount of money being wagered on player and manager transfer bets when compared to other markets, like a typical match in the Premier League.

Paddy Power

Paddy Power is part of the same betting company as Betfair these days, so it should not come as a surprise to see that the two major UK betting sites have a lot of the same markets too.

As an example, Paddy Power offered many of the same special Erling Haaland markets as Betfair after the striker moved from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City in the summer of 2022.

Paddy Power's player transfer markets include options for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Robert Lewandowski and Declan Rice, with a decent range of choices available here.

Manager markets offered at the Paddy Power sportsbook site include who will be named the next manager of England, the Republic of Ireland, Real Madrid, Liverpool and many more. As is the case with most major betting sites in the UK, Paddy Power has a 'sack race' market as well.

Bet365

Bet365 is arguably the biggest betting site in the world, with player and manager transfer markets among the massive choice available for anyone who opts to sign up for an account.

At Bet365, users can expect to find a decent range of player transfer markets for many stars who are expected to be on the move, including Neymar, Ronaldo, Lewandowski and so on.

Manager markets are included at Bet365 too, adding to the long list of reasons - such as great promos and live streaming - why people opt to place bets at this leading UK online betting site.

BetVictor

The transfer betting section at BetVictor is very busy, which is one of the reasons it should be considered to be one of the best betting sites in the UK in terms of player transfer betting.

As well as markets for a lot of the elite stars featured elsewhere, BetVictor allows its users to bet on the future of players such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and many more.

Unusually, BetVictor allows football fans to bet on 'any German club' or 'any Spanish club' to sign a number of players for whom it offers transfer markets, such as Declan Rice.

Manager betting markets that are up for grabs at BetVictor include the next Premier League manager to leave their post and who will be named the next manager of the England team.

For all of the player and manager transfer betting markets, it is possible to filter the selection on offer at BetVictor by either time or popularity. This is a good way for football fans to quickly see which player transfer markets are proving among the most popular to browse on this UK site.

Top Player & Manager Transfer Betting Markets

After choosing which UK betting site to use, it is time to take a look at the wide range of top player and manager transfer betting markets that are likely to be available for fans to browse:

Player to join X club: The most common type of player transfer betting market offered at top online bookmakers in the UK concerns the future of a footballer. Most of these markets will be presented with the name of a player and the list of clubs being reported to be interested. As an example, a market for Declan Rice's next club might include Chelsea and Manchester United. Various players from UK and European clubs tend to be available to bet at betting sites, which might have a handful of stars to pick from or even dozens of different players available.

To stay at the current club: As well as placing wagers on a player to move to a new club, football fans might sometimes want to bet on someone to stay at their current club instead of switching. Rice, for example, is often linked with moving but might opt to remain at West Ham. Betting site customers can therefore choose to bet on Rice to stay at West Ham instead of him moving on.

The sack race: This is one of the most popular players and transfers betting markets available. The next Premier League manager to leave their post is a market that runs throughout the year. With several Premier League managers losing their jobs over the course of a typical season, the sack race market is one that will be available around the entire calendar. Many UK newspapers report on the odds of moving in the next Premier League manager to leave their post-market too. In this market, as with the top player to join X club lists, a betting site might choose to suspend the betting in the event of it seeming certain that a deal or a sacking is about to take place.

Next X manager: Along with the future of players, football fans in the UK increasingly like to bet on who will be the next manager of various teams as well. It is commonly possible to bet on the identity of the next England manager, even when there is not currently a vacancy in the post, while top clubs like Liverpool and Real Madrid often have similar markets available to bet on.

Transfer specials: It is not just transfers themselves that UK betting sites have markets for these days. Indeed, when there is a major transfer involving a big team there are often special markets created around the deal in a bid to tempt customers into having a wager or two. A good example of this concerns Erling Haaland's big summer 2022 move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City. After the deal was confirmed and ahead of the 2022-23 Premier League season getting up and running, football fans had the chance to bet on the chance of Haaland scoring five goals in a Premier League game, as well as on the striker to win the Ballon d'Or.

A Guide for the Top 5 European Transfer Windows

Player transfer news and rumours circulate throughout the year, but all football fans will already be aware of the fact that stars can only move at certain periods. There are a pair of transfer windows, one in the summer and another in the winter, so here are the key dates to look for:

Premier League Transfers

The Premier League is often claimed to be the best league in the world, with elite players and managers often linked with moving to England's top division. During the summer of 2022, Premier League teams were able to sign players for the new season from June 10. The closure of the Premier League's summer window will be at 23:00 BST on September 1 2022. It is usually the case that the winter window in the Premier League runs through the month of January.

Despite the disruption to the 2022-23 season as a result of the World Cup being played in Qatar, this will be the case this season too so the window will be open from January 1-31. The Premier League previously had a rule where the transfer window closed before the first game of the season was played, but this was felt to give an advantage to European teams who were able to have a few more weeks to get their business done, so the dates were switched.

La Liga Transfers

Spain's top division has often been home to the best players in the world, with Lionel Messi and Ronaldo spending large chunks of their careers there. In the summer of 2022, the La Liga window opened a little later than the Premier League, with teams able to confirm their new signings from July 1. The closure of the summer window is the same day across Europe, so for La Liga, it will be slamming shut at 22:59 BST on September 1 2022. The winter window will run from January 2 to 31 in La Liga, so almost the same as it is for the Premier League in England.

Bundesliga Transfers

In Germany, Bundesliga clubs were able to register their new signings from July 1 in the summer of 2022, the same day as Spanish clubs in La Liga. As is the case across Europe's major football league, the summer transfer window in the Bundesliga is set to close on September 1, but this will happen at 17:00 BST rather than right at the end of the day. The Bundesliga is known for having a winter break but its winter window runs through January.

Ligue 1 Transfers

Over the channel in France, the dates and times for the Ligue 1 transfer windows are exactly the same as in England for the Premier League. What that means is that teams could sign up new players from June 10 and will be free to do so until 23:00 BST on September 1 2022, with the Ligue 1 winter window then opening on January 1 and closing on January 31.

Serie A Transfers

Completing our round-up of the transfer windows for the top leagues in Europe, we turn to Italy where the summer 2022 transfer window opened on July 1, the same day as in Spain and Germany. Italy follows the same deadline day at the end of the European summer window, so clubs will have to confirm their signings on September 1 or miss out on them.

The dates for the winter window in Italy are the same as in Spain, running from January 2 to 31. As in the Premier League, Serie A used to close its summer transfer window before the start of the new season but this is no longer the case, with deadline day staying the same all over Europe.